The invention generally relates to component assisted power regulation.
A typical computer system includes at least one voltage regulator (a switching regulator, for example) that provides and regulates various supply voltages that are used by and power the components of the computer system. As examples, the computer system may provide and regulate supply voltages for 5 volt (V), 3.3 V, 2.5 V, 1.8 V and 1.5V power planes of the computer system.
A particular voltage regulator may regulate a given supply voltage within tolerance levels set at several tens of millivolts about the nominal voltage while delivering a variable output current that may exceed 100 amps. Ideally, the voltage regulator should quickly respond to rapid changes in the output current to maintain tight regulation of the supply voltage. However, it is quite possible that the output current may change at a rate faster than the rate at which the regulator can maintain regulation of the supply voltage. As a result, the supply voltage may momentarily fall outside of tolerance levels. Unfortunately, a momentary loss of regulation by the voltage regulator may detrimentally affect the performance of the computer, cause computational errors in the computer system, cause memory losses in the computer system and may even damage components of the computer system, as just a few examples.
For purposes of maintaining tight regulation of the supply voltages, a typical computer system may include complex voltage regulation circuitry, thereby increasing the cost of the computer system. Alternatively, large and/or many capacitors may be coupled to the supply voltage planes to maintain adequate regulation during rapid current changes, and thus, a considerable amount of space on the motherboard may be devoted to these capacitors, thereby increasing the cost of the computer system.
Thus, there is a continuing need for an arrangement that addresses one or more of the problems that are stated above.